Corydorys and Salt

[Bill M.]

No, thats not whats for dinner tonight...heh

I was admiring my 29 gallon, which now has crystal clear water after turning the output of my canister all the way open, *more gph i assume* when I saw my female honey gourami, and she had what looks like a bite mark near her fins *the primary moving ones* I netted her, and put her in my 10 gallon, which houses a male guppy, a platy, 2 neons *the other 4 died, and 2 albino corys. I added extra stress coat, and I was going to add some aquarium salt to prevent infection, but I wasnt sure if corys can handle aquarium salt. I was going to add a tonic solution of 1 tbs per ten gallons, so one tablespoon.....advice please!!!

[RobbieG]

You probably shouldn't - cories don't like salt.

[Bill M.]

Sweet... good thing I asked, eh? Should I just moniter the honey, or should I buy some type of preventative meds???

[RobbieG]

I would keep a good eye on her - gouramis I have had seem to be more prone to fungal infections than bacterial. These are usually pretty easy to spot.

If anything does come up - I've used the jungle anti-fungal tabs pretty successfully.

[gm72]

Corys and other scaleless fish don't like salt as a rule of thumb.

[zackish]

You probably don't want to add extra stress coat either. Just use the regular dosage for whatever size tank it's going in. Adding extra woudl just be a waste. The recommended amount is going to do what it is expected to do.

[Bill M.]

oh, too late lol.. I added about 3 teaspoons *3 squirts* to the hospital tank... oh well.. shell be fine..

[Spyder]

Corys, especially aeneus can handle small amounts of salt without any problems. They can even handle high levels for short periods for treatments such as Ick. I bought a group of Cardinals and had to quarenteen them in a tank that housed aeneus corys. The Cardinals ended up with Ick and I treated with heat and salt @ 2 tsp per gallon for 2 weeks and the Corys were fine. You just need to airate more. You only need to add the salt very slowly, about 1/2 tsp per gallon a day, you wouldn't want to add all at once.

[Drumachine09]

2 per gallon? Thats an awful lot of salt.

[Spyder]

For treating Ick it's recommended 3 tsp per gallon. I'd still rather use salt and heat than chemicals.

[RobbieG]

Me too - although salt is a chemical

[Spyder]

Salt is naturally in all waters and I don't consider it a chemical. To many people put antbiotics and copper and things of that nature in their tanks way to much. I would rather use something a little more natural and use chemicals as a last result.

[Fishguy2727]

There are various 'standard' dosing recommendations for salt treatment. I have heard 1 tablespoon per 1-5 gallons, depending on the source.

In this case I would use Melafix and Pimafix. They are natural (as opposed to harsh chemical meds) and are very effective.

Cories are not as sensitive to salt as many resources would lead you to believe.

[RobbieG]

Salt is naturally in all waters and I don't consider it a chemical. To many people put antbiotics and copper and things of that nature in their tanks way to much. I would rather use something a little more natural and use chemicals as a last result.

Thats the trouble with familiar products - we tend to take them for granted. To use your example - common table salt can be made using cuprinous iodide (copper iodide).

I would use salt first myself - but I wouldn't consider it to be any safer or more natural than any other chemical I add to my tank.

[digger]

my corys were in a brackish tank with my five fin sharks they loved it and actually started breeding in it .

[Fishguy2727]

Exceptions to general trends should not be considered when determining care.

[gm72]

Agreed, and well said.